Torpedoproof battleship



March 13, 1945. A. D. MAsLoFF ToRPEDo-PRooF BATTLESHIP Filed July 27,1940 a. QE*

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Itis known that modern armored particular, battleships,dreadnoughtadestroyers, and cruisers, are provided with two boards orPatented Mar. 13, 1945 i.

2,371,340- 'roRPEDoPRooF BATTLESHIP Alexander D. Masloff, New York, N.Y., assgnorvl I of. sixtyonefhundredths to George A. Rubissow, l

f i NewYork, N. Y.

l Application. July 27,k 1940, serial No. 347,956

wallsythe outer board or wall being constructed at a distance from theinner board or Wall, and

various chambers and separating bulkheadsvertical, horizontal and at anangle are now utilized in order to divide the free space between theouter and inner boards into small chambersy or sections'so that if atorpedo explodes onlysome of these sections will be damaged `andflooded.` However, 'none of these known arrangements Aare adequateagainst re, nordo they oiler satisfac tory protection against torpedos,vmines or shells. This invention relates to anew construction venirne.(c1. 1mg-'ssi' ships, in-

ters `refer to like parts throughout the severalviews,diagrammaticalschemes o'f different arof the inner and outerboards which render a.

ship torpedo-proof or substantially torpedo-proof. Furthermore, this newconstruction asdescribed in this specication, is more economical andsimpier in its design andv nature.

The main defect of present-existing constructions consists in that theseparations ,and bulkheads, instead of permitting free escape of theexploding gases, serve, thereby increasing the force of the explosiondue to the known fact that'the greatest destruction occurs, or tends tooccur Where the resistance is' the greatest. Hence, each explosiondestroys adjacent cells or chambersor sections and spreads in alldirections.

The invention herein described provides means infact, as an 'obstacle,-`

to render ships en-tirely or substantially torpedo- 1 proof, andconsiderablydiminish the destructive efilciency of exploded torpedos,mines,'shells and the like.

One aspect of thisinvention consists in providing a plurality of specialsafety-sections in the free air-space formed between, the; two A boardsof the ship, permitting freef escape of thef'exploded gases from`suchlsafety section orsections where the explosion has occurred,bettering such escape by especiallyjprovided trap-doors,- The outerboard may be made'eonsiderably thinner than the inner boardand itjmaybeplaced atta sumcient distan-ce from the inner -one .to create as muchfree air-space as deemed necessary. Such 'rangements according to thisinvention are shown,

and also,l by way of example, several forms-of execution ofthisinvention. l" f Figure .1 represents' fa diagrammatical,longitudinalvside-view of a part of a ship partly in cross-sectionrwithparts progressively broken out. -Figure 2 is a. plan-view of Figure'v 1,with parts broken'out. `1 i Figure 3 isa cross-secti'onal'view ofFigure 1. Figure 4 is a schemati-cal View of trap--doorY and mechanismto operatesame. Figure 5 is a plan-view of a part of the mechanisrnftooperate thetrap-ldoor'shown on'Figure 4. Figure 6 islanoth'erdiagrammatical, longitudi' nal side-view of a shipwith parts brokenout.yOne aspect of this invention, as. shown in Fig-- ures 1, 2 and 3,consists in removing or eliminating all horizontal'and/or all inclined(in respecty to the longitudinal axle of the ship) separation Walls orbulkheads from the already existing construction,` preferably frombattleships,rin .which they were previously provided, leaving only ver-Atical bulkheads or 'vertical separation walls.

Another aspect of thisv invention consists indesigning and building newships, preferably battle-y ships,vv destroyers, dreadnough-ts, cruisers,and. even submarines and. other ships, so that no horizontal orinclined' (in respect to the longitudinal axleof Vthe ship) bulkheads orseparation walls" are provided', only verticall bulkheads or walls suchas I0', II, I2, I3, I`4,"50f5'|`, 52, and53` as shown on Figures 1, 2, 3and 6, y

Figure 1 represents schematically: from left to right the outer board2|; in dotted lines, the ver;

-tical or substantially vertical beams I5 and- IB and f It shouldbenotedk that bulkheads I0, II, I 2, I3,

construction will permity the explosion of the torpedo, mine or shellwhen hitting the outer board, and prevent the. exploded gases. from,destroying the inner board, inasmuch as the. free air-space greatlyamortises and disperses them, and a relatively small part of theexplosion ,will be received bythe inner board.

Ixr the drawing, wherein like referencechaacsi;

I 4 (IN1-|42) are shown -for' purposes of example,

being of diiere'nt heights. The bulkheads, Igfl I, I2'start from thebottom'K and'end at the upper deck U. Bulkheads I3 and Ill-|12 are shownslightly over-the water-line W, and bulkhead I4 is shown reaching tothe'A. deck. This; invention does not limit f any desirable combination.of heights for the bulkheads and the; givenexampl'e does not limit it inany way. The free air-spaces On the outer ends of such beams, forinstance,XI is generally, but notV necessarily, provided anassembly-beam or thev 30a, 301), 38C, 30d, etc.

like, such as I5, I6, I'I, I8, Figure 1, or I8, Figure 2, or 23, Figure3, which should preferably follow the contour of the outer board 2|.Each such assembly-beam may consist of one vsingle rigidv beam fromupper deck U to the bottom K, or may be composed of one or more parts,i. e., for instance: 24, 25, 26may bemade asione rigid part of a beam,and 21 and 28 may be'made as another rigid part of the same beam, suchvariation to be in accordance with the construction desired.

The vertical assembly-beams I5,v I6, I9 and 20;

as shown by way'of example on Figures 1, 2, and 3, may be placed one inrespect to the other at any desirable distance. 1

The horizontal beams III, I2, I3, I4 should preferably be perpendicularin respect to the inner and/or outer boards, however, beams at any anglein respect to the saidboards, and in oneor more planes, straight and/orcurved, rmay be employed. I f

The main aspect of thisinvention-consistsin providing a, construction ofa vship havingjthe outer board and the inner board comprising:

(1) VA sufficiently great-distance between the inner board 2I andtheouter board 22, Figs..1, 2 and 3, so that asufciently large freeairspace with atmosphere-air is obtained? x (2) Said free airfspac'e tobe divided only by a plurality'of preferably verticalv or substantiallyvertical bulkheads or separationwalls, IIL, I I, I2, I3, I4. (3) Saidbulkheadsy (I0,'II, I2, I3, I4),'begin ning from the .bottom K orsubstantially the bottom K of the free air-space, and` ending preferably slightly abovethewater-line W.' f f Inships vof the types describedherein, -havingi five decksan upper .deckU and four decks A, B, Cgand Das shown by wayof example onFigures 1, 2 and .3, thenthe preferredconstruction according to this invention'should all have bulkheadsl,II,l I2, I3, I4 of preferably the same height as I3 and-(I41-I42). Sucharrangement will provide a. very big free air-space from the bottom K ofthe ship up to the top point Tzof I3 or of I41I42. All verticalbulkheads II), II, I2, I3, I4 (M1-442), when of the same heights (orsubstantially the same heights), as for instance, the height T of I3,will form a line Pr-Pz as shown in dotted lines, whichline hereinafterwill be called bulkhead top-line.

Another feature ofthe main aspect of this invention consists inconstructing the bulkhead top-line passing substantiallylparallelto theA deck forming a common partition of free air-space M3,'Figure 3. Stillvanother feature consists in having 4the bulkhead top-line reachthe'upper deck U. This construction thus provides a pluralityofsafety-sections whichldo not. inter-communicate, inasmuch as, in aconstruction of this kind, there is no common partition of freeairspace.

In the case where the bulkhead top-line passes through P--P or P1-P1,there should always be provided a common partition of free air-space M,Figures l and 3, which considerably amortizes the destructive eiect ofthe exploded gases.

For security against rolling, the bulkhead topline Pr-Pi should be soplaced that the safetypartitions will not be flooded through the commonpartition of the free air-space, in the event that one or more of thesaid safety-partitions are flooded due to the ships rolling.

It is also recommended that the Pi-Pl line be of such a character thatthere will be no danger of flooding through the common partition of thefree air-space M in the case of pitching. This is easily achieved by anappropriate choice of P1-P1, as, for instance, a curved Pz-Pz rising tothe bow and stern of the ship.

P--P may also be constructed in the form of a curve, Ps-Ps which Will beuseful if the bulkheadtop-line Pa-P3 in T3 approaches the Waterline atchosen Aintervals close enough in TA and` the neighboring bulkhead-topT3 is suiciently above the Water-line, or may even be as -high'as deck Aor U, thus reassuring the security against iiooding of theneighboringsafety-sections.

In such a construction, shoulda torpedo or mine hit the ship somewhereatpoint X,, Figj` ure l, then the exploded gases will expand in the freeair-space between I3, I4 and when they, reach the bulkhead top-line P1P2will expand throughout the freefair-space left and right fromthe top T-of the bulkheadl, v.It must b eem, phasized that ,horizontal bulkheadsor wallsor decks, in accordance with this invention, are not to beprovided between the inner and outer boards, so that the exploded gasescanexpand land meet with no obstacle on their way up or down.

Even should it come about that the explosion in X demolishes bulkheadI4, only the compartment between vI3 and I 41-I42 will be iiooded bywater. Due to the` bulkhead Atop-line being raised sufiiciently abovethe water-line W, the ,damaging and iiooding of the compartments, forexample, the compartments between I3-I4 (M1-|42) `will neither provedangerous nor fatal for,the ship. l

As yet, no battleships or other ships used for military purposes, havebeen designed or executed possessing the features of the said mainaspect of the invention described herein.

This description of the main aspectv `of this invention, refers tobulkheads I0, II, I2, I3 and I4 as vertical bulkheads. In point of fact,such a construction is vthe most expedient, and the bulkheads can easilybe alxed by suitable means,

such as rivets, bolts, screws, Welding, etc.

or by any locking or interlocking. deviee,vto the I on Figure 1,141-442, the free space between them may remain free, i, e., filled withair 54 or may be filled with shock-absorbing materials,"such as wood 55,paper, sand 56, rubber 5l, and the like.:

If desired, the bulkheads may be placed not Aat Where double-bulkheadsare employed, as shown the sides oi the? beams, buty beiveen thesaidbeans as` shown in lila, Fig-ure 1. In thisicase,

either I4` and Ms are used simultaneously, or only f llnsteadofconstructing' the bulkheads I Il Isl?A H31, i4 vertical in respecttofthe. water-linet ey can be made slightlyfinclined?'to4 theAWaterl-ine, ory even very strongly` inclined? as illustrated? o'n Figure6, vwherein bulkheads 50; 5|', correspond to- I3? or |42 of* Figure l?,andi 52'; 53- to tl or I'Zoi Figure 1, dividing the ship into inclinedsafetysections and having, asshown byWay-fotexanxple,

a. bulkhead; top -li'hePa-Pa which: provides,y ai. com;- mon partitionofi freeair'fspaoe M1... Should allA inclined bulkheads extend.y fromvthe-.upper deck. U: to the bottom K, as 52, then noicomrnon partition Ishould be provided.

ToL facilitate the escape oii' gases from the-.salatyf-sections in whichthey explode, the surfaces, of bulkheads lill?, Hi.. |21, llt, lil' may:beV provided with a smooth surface, or may be polished, orA con;ered-witha smooth coat of paint orvarnish.

2m. When in battle, or in The choice otthef number of'beams, 3tg'3fliand I9i, 20, and the order' in. Winch'r they' are-'placed lxetvveen.each of the: two bulkheads, isi a Iz'natter` for the designer ofthefship. It'` should beinotedg:v

merely, that suchf beams Y offer avery-b sn'ial-ll resistance' to theexploded'gasesbeeause ot their small' surfaces and-smally volume.

If the torpedo; explodes between lBL-MinnfX Figure 1,. or in: X1 Figure6,. and. should: neither bulkhead I3.' nor i4 'in Figureand 5l or; 521m.Figure: 6, 'bei demolislied-,then the one-safetyeseca tion; systemisprov-idedi Should thev torpedo-ide`` inolish one of: the:two-bulkhead'sz form-ing: a safety section, then a'.two-safetyesecti'cnl system', is. prcrvided.

In the eventi that the torpedo.y demolish'es: two` neighboring:bulkheads, then atthree-safety:-sec*l tion system is provided, and soon.

'This invention, asv herein. described, the application of? any.ldesirablenumber ot these safetysectionsystenis;?l

. To assist` and increase;v they efficiency ot this:

method and construction', the upper or: side surface of the commonpartition. of the freeair-space: may be providedwith. af free openingmrfree dut.-` let into the atmosphere. Such openingf. may have,

automatically operated. outlets or: valve-like', pv-

Onef'of. the aspects.` of. such: outlet-system is shown schematically'on' Figures l, 2,l 3.,. 4 and. 5- wherein theupper deck;-

otedtrap-doors;` or: the; like;

Uz is provided with?y apluralityaftrap-doors. Whichestablish, whenopened, az-free. passage.:` for the exploding gases. from thesa'fety-seetiony which the torpedo or shell or: mine explodes.. Suchtrap-doors,v 33, 34, 35, 36 may be arrangedl.

in a single row of a size. approximately equal too the distance between.thefinnerand. outerhulla;

as.y illustrated by 33l on Figuresv 1,l 2 'and- 3. These can be placedone adjacent to the. other or; withy spaces between them. Instead oasingle; row of;

trap-doors, two rowsr or more. maylbe; provided.' To operate trap-doors,gear 42' is'provided Lcombined with a gear 43 andfwithl worrn-gearjll'l,saidr worm-gear beine` rigidlyamxefr-*tc the shaftttsprovided Withalever46 and aV handle- 4l, and' may be easily operated by one or two'men ofthel crew. If desired', instead. ofthe lever #Band the y. handle 4l, orin. addition to therna motor-driven l' arrangement may be provided, suchas a steam?. operating motor (generally. employed onshlps for. thewinding. of cables)v .or an electric motor. ora. pulley tobe operativelyconnected fwth; atdriying;Y

shaft; or'anyf suitable tcothed arrangement which will; enable. aclockwise and countreclockwise movementofthe shaft. l

The serrated: member 4l. may: be pivotallyl at-` tachedf' to theltrap-door: 35l through the intelemediary of a pivotal connection' 48provided in the element 49 rigidly-affixed in respect tothe trawdoor. y

In the: doublerow arrangement of ltrap-doors,

. `Ther trap-doorsjmay be made of any material,

andi if: desired, theyfmayJ be made' of armour-plate steel sorthati'f'shellsf hitthe trap-doors: when they 'are opened` "ory closed; theshells f will bounce against the trap-door and glance off due to thefact: that. 'the trap-door when: opened can be opened; at. anangle t0.thefupperf deck, asv illus--l trated'onlFigureni... i. f v the. war.-zone,.the trap doorsshould be. opened on theside Where the ship may' beattacked, 'orf for. better: precaution, on` both sides. otithel ship..If there is fearonly of mines; andthe shipis going ata fair rate of.speed,

the trapdoors in the; bow must; be open sov that theftrapfdoor'to eachsafety-'section vulnerable to attack, is? open. f

Instead*k of` operating. the: trap-doors by ymechanical means; 'theymay` be: simply pivotallyy attache@ or `hinged through.. appropriatemeans so that 'they open: only;` when the pressure in: the

'safety-section andl/orain: the common. partition othe; free air-space-yofftheT exploded gasesreaches such a: degree;l that the trap'fdoors:automatically lift.. and the'exploded super-pressure gases are enabled;escape into.: the atmosphere.

v`majority of cases, it;- will. be vfound advisable to, make the. outerboard much. thinner` than the,-

innerboardl. f

The upper. part. of. the outerfboard 2;l, i.e., that part which.exten-dsfrorn theupper deck U, dovvn.4

.Wards to the Water` line; or slghtly'belovv the Water linemay be madeof a hardened steelibullet or torpedoprooft, or 'l armored steel; andthe remainingpart, i. e the lower part'of ,the youter board, extendingdovvnwardsbelow the water line, can be made ol carbon-iron alloyynot-necessarily .j hardened. If desired, the'wholeouter boardmay be madeoff torpedo-proof or armoured steel. For the upper partv 0f the outerboard'. 2l a. hardened torpedo-proof or armored. plate may be employed,having a thickness ofi'4f to 6j inches. This, however is given by way ofexample` ori-lv, and does? not limit the thickness of. the 'boards toany appropriated..dimension.. The steel used in. the lower partrnay .bemade of ordinary armourplated steel et about 1 to.3; nchesin thickness.

4The inner board 2.2 can start from the. very keel lioftheshipas shownon Figure 3. If necessary... itimayA even. followthekeel of theshipto vacertain,

point, and ymay.. for instance, be.`extended ,ffas

shown insdottedlines 31, on Figure 3..

The inner. board 22 may be madel from.l'ieavfy` armor having a thicknessof, for" instance, 7, 10, 12 or'more inches. rI'he lower part of suchinner board extending below the water line should preferably be madefrom unhardened steel, or from armor-plated steel that has not beenespecially subjected to hardening.

The distance Z (Figures 2 and 3) between the inner and outer boa-rds isequal to the thickness of the safety-sections or to the thickness of thecommon partition of the free air-space M Fig-l ure 3 and may be between5 `to 12 feet. Owing to the fact that the battleship generally placesitself with its bow to the enemys re, it will be advantageous tomaintain the distance Z as wide as reasonably possible in the bow andstern of the ship also.

However, for a general construction, 'the Z in the middle part of theship may be 7 to 15 feet, and towards the bow and stern, graduallydiminishing from 4 to 8 feet.

Instead of a two-board system consisting ofone outer and one innerboard, a tri-board system may also be employed. For instance, the rstouter board, may be at a distance of four or five feet from the secondor middle board, and said second or middle board at a distance of ve toseven feet from the third or inner board, as shown in Z and ZI on Figure2. An appropriate choice of thickness of each of the said three boardsand the choice of the distances Z and Z'I between them, may vary inaccordance with the construction of the ship and in accordance with thedesirable degree' of security to be provided against torpedoes, shellsand mines. lf properly chosen, evena two-board construction will offerthe greatest security when built in accordance with the inventiondescribed herein.

Instead of three boards, four boards may be used. ZI, Z2 may be chosenaccordingly, as well as the thicknesses of the respective boards.

When a three-board system is employed, such a system will have twoindependent and different ,groups of safety-sections and also twoindependent common partitions of free air-spaces MI and M2. l

When properly chosen, such a. three-board system provided withsufficiently spacious M and Ml and having suitable thicknesses of thefirst, middle and third boards, a suitable distance of Z and Zi willoier almost absolute safety for the ship against torpedoes, mines andthe like.v For a three-board system, by way of example, the thickness ofthe boards and the distances between them, may be made as follows:

A battleship costing, for example, from thirty to fifty millions ofdollars, if provided with the board system, in accordance with thisinvention, will cost even less if constructed with the twoboard system,and will, in addition, offer an incomparably greater, almost completesafety against torpedoes and the like, if the dimensions are properlychosen.

and the second inner boards.

' i If such a battleship' will employ a three-board system,y providedwith safety sections and preferably, also with one or two commonpartitions of free air-spaces, of the character referred to herein, theywill offer substantially absolute safety against damaging means of anykind. Such construction may cost 3 to 5% more but this is relativelynothing when compared with the fact that this extra expenditurepermanently 'in- 'sures the safety of the ship and the lives of those onboard.

This invention is not limited to the figures stated herein withreference to the thicknesses of the boards the distances Z or ZI betweenthem, but may be of any other suitable or expedient thickness ordistance.

The same construction as described herein, for battleships, etc., can beemployed in the'building of submarines, in which case, the ballastcistern system should be placed in between the inner and outer boards,but inwardly in respect to the inner board, i. e., between the left andright inner boards. A second inner board may be provided, if desired,and in such case, a ballast cistern system should be placed between thefirst inner Having now particularly described and ascertained the natureof the herein described invention, and in what manner the same is to beused, I declare that what I claim is the following:

1.-An armored ship having at least three decks and having ahullstructure comprising an inner. wall and an outer wall spaced from theinner wall to provide a free air space between said walls, said free airspace 'being unobstructed by horizontal partitions or bulkheads andextending. from substantially the bottom of said ship to the ilrst deckthereof, a plurality of vertical bulkheads dividing the lower portion ofsaid free air space into separate safety compartments, each of saidvertical bulkheads extending from the bottom of said air space to apoint at least as high as the third deck, each of said safetycompartments being open at the top for communication with the undividedupper portion of saidfree air space, a plurality of beams extendingbetween said inner and outer walls and holding said walls rigidly inmutually spaced relation.

2. An armored ship having at least three decks and having a hullstructure comprising an inner wall and an outer wall spaced from theinner wall toprovide a free air space between said walls, said free airspace being unobstructed by horizontal partitions or bulkheads andextending from substantially the bottom of said ship to the first deckthereof, a plurality of vertical bulkheads dividing the lower portion ofsaid free air space into separate safety compartments, each ofsaidvertical bulkheads extending from the bottom of said air space to apoint at least as high as the third deck, each of said safetycompartments being open at the top for communication with the undividedupper portion of said free air space, a plurality of beams extendingbetween said inner and outer walls and holding said walls wall and anouter wall spaced from the innerv wall to provide a free air spacebetween said walls, said free air space being unobstructed by horizontalpartitions or' bulkheads and extending from substantially the bottom ofsaid ship to the heads dividing the lower portion of said free air spaceinto separate safety compartments, each of tom of said air spaceto apoint at least as high as the third deck but not higher than the, seconddeck, each of said safety compartments being open at the top forcommunication with the undivided-upper portion of said free air space, aplurality of horizontal beams extending between said inner and outerwalls and holding said walls rigidly in mutually spaced relation.

4. An armored ship having at least three decks and a hull structure,comprising an inner wall and an outer Wall spaced from the inner wall toprovide a free air space between said walls, said free air space beingunobstructed by horizontal partitions or bulkheads and extending fromsubstantially the bottom of said ship to the first-deck thereof, aplurality of vertical bulkheads dividing the lower portion of said freeair space into separate compartments, each of said vertical bulkheadsextending from the bottom of ysaid air space to a point at least as highas the third deck, but not higher than the second deck, each of saidsafety compartments being open at the top forcommunication with theundividedupper portion of said free air space, a plurality of horizontalbeams extending between said inner and outer walls and holding saidwalls rigidly in mutually spaced relation, a plurality of trap doorscommunicating with said safety compartments being provided in the saidupper deck. f

5. An armored ship as set forth in claim 3 said vertical bulkheadsextending from the botwherein said trap doors are made of armored plate.t y l 6. An armored ship as set forth in vclaim 3 wherein said trapdoors are armored, means being l provided to operate the opening andclosing of said trap door. o

7. An armored ship having at least three decks and having a hullstructure comprising an inner Apedo range.

wall and an outerwall spaced from the inner wall to provide a freeairspace between said walls, said `free air space being` unobstructedyby hori- `zontal* partitions or bulkheads and extending l fromsubstantially the bottom of said ship to the first deck thereof, aplurality of vertical bulkheads dividing the lower portion of said' freeair space into separate safety compartments, each of said verticalbulkheads extending from the bottom of said air space to a point atleast as high as the third deck but notfhigher than the second deck,-each of said safety compartments being open` at the top forcommunic'ationwithv the undivided upper portion of said free airspace, aplurality of beams extending between said inner and outer wallsand'holding said walls rigidly in` mutually spaced relation, aVplurality of .trap doors communicating with said safety compartmentsbeing providedln the said upper deck, said inner wall lbeing'made fromthick armor at that part thereof which is ,within torpedo range, vthe, y

said outer wall being made of as thin as possible armor at that partthereof which is within tor- ALEXANDER D. MAsLoFF.

